Fire destroys house on Knighton Road

Photo by George L. Winship, Editor

Photo by Michael Woodward

On her way home, Natalie Hawkins received a call from her daughter about smoke coming off the top of their house at 19100 Knighton Road at about 8:30 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 15. Her daughter called her from the family's swimming pool.

Even though she called 911 promptly, Hawkins said she never imagined what the small amount of smoke would turn to.

The fire, which possibly began in the roof of the garage area according to Cal Fire Captain Scott Corn, eventually developed into a fully involved blaze of the 4,800-square-foot home and attached garage.

Looking over her burnt house on Monday morning, Hawkins was unsure how much was lost.

“I have no idea,” she said while waiting for a representative from her insurance company. “It’s bad I know.”

Much of what burned in the upper floor contained memorabilia, baby pictures and paper work pertaining to her husband’s painting business. Married to Charlie Hawkins, the varsity softball coach at Anderson Union High School, she said she hopes to rebuild a house on the same ground.

With some furniture and items saved from the fire set on the front lawn, she said she will miss the lost photographs of her daughters, Natasha, Cheridan and Charli. Nevertheless, she was grateful for what the fire fighters could salvage.

“They got a lot of pictures,” she said. “They got as much as someone could have got out. We’re missing a cat, but we hope it’s out running around.”

No one was injured in the blaze, which dealt $500,000 in damages to the house by the time fire fighters contained it at 10:30 p.m., according to Cal Fire spokesman Justin Smith.

Cal Fire, Redding Fire Department and Anderson Fire Protection District all fought the blaze, still under investigation by Cal Fire.